Once Upon Stilettos (Enchanted, Inc. 2)

She raised a thin, overplucked eyebrow. “Really? I find that surprising, given your skill level. I would have thought you’d find it a real challenge to take on a new job.” Even though the words were venomous, she maintained a pleasant tone and expression.

I felt like I was right back in my old position, when she could make me feel so helpless I wanted to burst into tears. I’d only managed to stand up to her when I already had the new job lined up. Otherwise, I’d spent my time trying not to set her off.

“It must have something to do with the quality of the management, then, because Katie’s already been given a big promotion,” Owen said in the kind of smooth, calm tone he tended to use in business meetings when he was intimidating people. It was as good as a knight in shining armor coming to my rescue.

Mimi glanced at him, got the appreciative look in her eye that women tended to get when they saw him, then turned to me and sniffed disdainfully. “You would have needed a lot more training and experience before you were ready to move ahead in our organization.”

Bolstered by having Owen staunchly at my side, I tried to match her saccharine smile and tone. “And that’s why I looked for opportunities elsewhere.”

She pulled the tall, silver-haired gentleman she was with closer to her. “You’ve met Werner, haven’t you? We’re here looking at engagement rings.”

“It’s good to see you again, Werner. Congratulations. And this is Owen Palmer. We work together. Owen, Mimi used to be my boss.”

With the kind of almost evil smile I wouldn’t have thought him capable of, Owen said smoothly, “I must thank you for making it so easy for us to recruit Katie. She’s been invaluable to us.”

Mimi blinked like she had to mentally diagram the sentence in order to figure out what he’d said and how she should react to it. The moment her nostrils began to flare, Werner took her arm and said, “It was nice seeing you again, Katie. A pleasure to meet you, Owen.” Then he dragged her back to the engagement ring display.

“I see what you mean,” Owen said softly, raising one eyebrow. “Rod could have probably come in lower on the salary offer and still lured you away from that.”

The saleslady returned to us. “Is there a piece you’d like to see?”

Owen maintained his business cool long enough to point to the feather brooch and say, “That one, please.”

“Excellent choice, sir. I love that one.” She slipped the key chain from around her wrist and unlocked the case, then took out the feather brooch and laid it on a black velvet cloth for inspection.

“I’ll take it. And can you gift-wrap it?”

“Of course, sir.”

He handed over a credit card without even looking at or asking the price. I caught a glimpse of the price tag and almost choked. I’d driven cars that didn’t cost that much. I knew he had to be pretty well off, given that he lived in a neighborhood where a million might buy a modest place, but I hadn’t actually given much thought to how rich he might be. I guessed he was making up for years of gift baskets.

While he finalized the transaction, I spied on Mimi and Werner, who were studying rings. Getting away from her had been the best part of being offered the job at MSI. Seeing her again reminded me why I was keeping quiet about my loss of immunity until I had a better sense of what to do. I couldn’t face going back to that life. While I knew that most bosses weren’t like her, I also knew that without having any particular qualifications that I didn’t already share with half the young career women in Manhattan, I wasn’t likely to be treated like anything other than a disposable commodity. At MSI, I at least had one quality they desperately needed. Or I’d had it once. I didn’t know what I’d do if it didn’t come back.

Owen tucked the small, gift-wrapped box in the breast pocket of his suit coat and said, “What next?”

“For books, I’m thinking the Strand. Maybe something rare and interesting like a first edition?”

“Good idea. Think you can walk from here?”

“Of course.” I figured we’d already wrapped up our encounter with Mimi, so I didn’t feel the need to say anything as we left. We headed back over to Broadway, then uptown. “Do you have any ideas for books that would be good?” I asked.

“I’ll have to see what they have, but I got a look in his library at Thanksgiving, so I know what he already has.”

“I wish it were that easy to shop for my dad. I can’t keep up with what he has in things like books from this far away, and he never seems to ask for anything other than socks and gloves.”

“Socks and gloves? Really?”

“You’d have to know my dad. For him, that’s extravagant. What do you usually ask for?”

“I don’t. There’s not much of anyone for me to ask.” I mentally kicked myself for asking without thinking. Given what he’d told me about his home life, I should have known better.

We reached Grace Church, where Sam’s occasional appearances used to make me uneasy before I learned about magic. I tried to keep from looking at the church as we passed, instead keeping my pace brisk. I didn’t like the reminder of what I’d lost. Owen slowed down, though. He paused, and then he seemed frozen in time. If I hadn’t known that something was likely going on, I wouldn’t have noticed it at all. So that was what the rest of the world saw when one of us paused to chat with a gargoyle. The frozen image must have masked the conversation. Losing my immunity might have been a pain at times, but it was certainly educational. I was more than eager, however, to end the lessons and get back to what passed for normal in my life.

Owen unfroze and resumed walking with me. “Odd,” he mused out loud. “Sam usually takes that shift.”

I tried to pretend I had the slightest clue what he was talking about. “He did say he’d worked a lot over the holiday. Maybe he traded off with somebody else.”

“That’s probably it.” I was surprised that he didn’t even question me about not participating in the conversation.